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Daggerdale
Daggerdale, originally named Merrydale, was a remote region of the Dalelands located between the Desertsmouth Mountains and the Dagger Hills. It was a region of dark forests and rocky hills with a single large settlement named Dagger Falls Society Most of the folk in Daggerdale were hunters and farmers, living in small villages and isolated homesteads. The people were generally xenophobic and fearful of outsiders, due in large part to the bandit and monster attacks that regularly plagued the countryside. This was exacerbated by continuous assaults and schemes enacted by Zhentarim spies and agents throughout the 14th century. Generally speaking, the Dalesfolk of Daggerdale wanted to be left alone. Trade Daggerdale's economy was largely based on subsistence crops, furs and livestock, most notably sheep. Deposits of beryl found deep in the Dagger Hills meant that emeralds could potentially be mined, however the threat of lycanthrope atacks in the area made most excursions too dangerous. Most of Daggerdale's manufactured goods had to be imported though. Geographic features Daggerdale was a more remote region of the Dalelands, in the upper region of Tesh Valley between the Desertsmouth Mountains and the Dagger Hills. Very few paths entered in and out of dale, and heavy woodlands further isolated, and protected, the farmlands and more pristine open areas. This lightly wooded dale of rolling hills was perhaps one of the most unspoiled of landscapes among the Dalelands. Daggerdale was divided up by numerous rocky valleys and the few settled areas are centered around the town of Dagger Falls. Forests *Border Forest:This forest rested on the northern border of Daggerdale. It connected to three other regions but was rarely frequented by travelers. The native inhabitants were fey, such as satyrs, pixies, sprites and dryads. These fey had a hostile attitude towards civilized races due to past dealings with Zhentarim loggers working out of Snowmantle. Bodies of water *Dagger Falls:The nearby town of Dagger Falls was named after this waterfall. It has a sheer drop that could not be navigated by boats or returning salmon. Hills and mountains *Dagger Hills:This was the hilly area south-east of Dagger Falls. At one time, it contained tilled farmland which has since been abandoned and reclaimed by nature. Many monsters and predatory animals made this area their home. *Desertsmouth Mountains:These mountains ran along the western border of the Dalelands. They were previously home to the Tethyamar dwarves, trade partners of the Daggerfolk, prior to the fall of their kingdom at the hands of a savage horde. Descendants of the monstrous attackers, orcs, ogres and fiends, still lived in on the mountain tops. Notable locations *Anathar's Dell: This was a Brightblade holding in southern Daggerdale. *Castle Daggerdale: The famed keep overlooked the Tethyamar Trail and the thorp of Serpentsbridge from the western edge of the Dagger Hills. Settlements *Addas Babar: A small outpost of about one hundred and fifty people resting along the Black Road just west of the Desertsmouth *Black Switch: A small hamlet populated by no more than a couple dozen people on the Tethyamar Trail. *Cold Springs: A hamlet south of Dagger Falls. *Dagger Falls: The was the capital and largest settlement in Daggerdale. *Hadreth's Glen: A small hamlet along the southwestern edge of the Border Forest. *High Hill: In the land where the Cormanthor meets the Dagger Hills, along a tributary of the River Ashaba, is this small community of elves and half-elves. *Green Orb: a small hamlet *Nettle: Nettle is a small village northwest of Anathar's Dell *Shallain Freehold: Southeast of the Dagger Hills on top of a large hill is this walled town of over five hundred people. *Snowmantle: In isolated village near the Border Forest that was leveled in 1369 DR. *Stormpenhauder: Somewhere in the Spiderhaunt, southwest of Anathar's Dell is this gnome village. *Tachepp: One of the small elven villages of Daggerdale. *Teshmere: A hamlet just west of Dagger Falls along the Black Road. *Tethyamarside: Another hamlet south of Dagger Falls along the Tethyamar Trail. *Upper Nettle: a small hamlet *White Chalk Hollow: This hamlet was located along the southwestern edge of the Border Forest. Ruins and Former Settlements History The Daggerdale region has been settled, lost, settled again, lost again and resettled a number of times. This is a worksheet to help classify artifacts and denote languages used throughout this region's long history. All dates are here referenced to the Dale Reckoning standard. Netheril Years would be counted as + 3859 NY (Netheril Years). Coniferia - Language: Netherese, Alphabet: Draconic also Dethek influence from trade with Tethyamar and Espruar from Cormanthor. Originally started as a woodcutting camp in the -2900s DR, Coniferia rapidly grew into a prosperous community that provided wood, furs, and other natural creations that the sprawling Eastern Forest possessed in abundance. Its population doubled every decade, reaching a height of 15,000 in -2589 DR. The Silver Age of Netheril (-2758 to -2208 DR): As Coniferia grew and prospered, its surge in population also attracted predators to the area, namely orcs and goblins. Lumberjacks became easy targets for roving bands of these monsters, and the loggers soon organized themselves into groups to better defend themselves. The Golden Age of Netheril (-2207 to -1206 DR): Map cerca -2206 DR. These were the boom days for Coniferia. as well as for Netheril. Trade with the ever-increasing number of floating cities enabled the logging town to thrive. Cities such as Karsus made periodic visits to Coniferia to more efficiently gather the raw woods needed in the enclave. In the early -2200s, however, Coniferia became the target for an increasing number of troll attacks. These attacks grew in intensity throughout the Golden Age, but the citizens of the logging town, strengthened by the occasional enclave visit, repelled the attacks. The Age of Discovery of Netheril (-1205 to -697 DR): The Trollflame Wars began in -1105 DR and culminated in a horrific battle between Coniferia and a force of more than 12,000 trolls in -812 DR. Scorched bodies littered the earth and the city suffered severe damage when the trolls penetrated the outer walls. The Shadowed Age of Netheril (-696 to -340 DR): While Coniferia withstood the breaching of its walls, it took until -649 DR until logging resumed its normal pace. Battles with the surviving trolls were infrequent, but it was obvious to everyone in the area that another confrontation with the trolls was eminent. Adventuring companies were frequently commissioned to search out and destroy troll lairs. The Fall and Beyond of Netheril (-339 DR+): Map cerca -339 DR. Netherils fall crushed Coniferia's economy, but the mortal blow arrived with a resurgence of the trolls in -335. Refugees from the overrun city of Monikar provided a warning for the logging town's residents, but there was no support this time from the enclaves, which had all fallen to the ground. A paladin named Gilomide led the people of Coniferia into battle with the trolls that became known as the Flametongue Excursion, named after the holy sword wielded by Gilomide. The excursion lasted for eight months, during wich time Coniferia fell to the trolls and the survivors fought a slow retreat northeast through the Gods' Legion Mountains and then south to join up with Netheril's survivor states. The Lords of Dordrien - Language: Thorass, Alphabet: Thorass Note: this was the first Chondathan language influence. Notes from the scolar Beldin: he hold of Dordrien was founded in the shadow of the Desertsmouth Mountains by a Jhaamdathan noble who led his people north from the coasts of what is now Sembia in year -251 DR. He and his folk were survivors of the calamitous destruction of Jhaamdath in -255 DR Year of Furious Waves. On the western slopes of the Dagger Hills, the Dordrien lords raised a sizeable keep, which guarded a large and prosperous town nearby. The realm flourished for a century or so and then failed, weakened by orc raids from the mountains and the decline of its ruling family. Most of its folk drifted back to the more populous lands near the Sea of Fallen Stars, and the town was abandoned by -75 DR Year of Leather Shields. Very little is left to indicate that any human settlement existed in the region prior to the rise of the Dalesfolk, hundreds of years later. The weathered foundations of Dordrien Keep lie on a barren hilltop 2 miles south of the crypts. The remnants of fieldstone walls and the skeletal shells of old farmhouses dot the nearby valley. The ruins of the town lie near the foot of the hill on which the keep stands. These remnants consist of little more than a handful of crumbling walls overgrown with briars and brush. Adventurers have explored the remains of both the keep and the town many times and found little of note. Merrydale and Hlontar - Language: Chondathan, Alphabet: Thorass, also the introduction of Espruar through trade with Myth Drannor plus occasional artifacts with writings in Hulgorkyn - possible fallout from Anauria?. Over the next few centuries the area is settled by people coming from freed states of Sembia, migrants from Cormyr and Hlondath. Merrydale is formed sometime around 650 DR. - 33 DR Year of Slowing Sands Asram falls victim to a plague, from which there are no survivors. Possibly phaerim magic was involved. 10 DR Year of Dreams Netheril renamed Anaroch 111 DR Year of Fallen Guards Anauria is destroyed by an orc horde, though it also destroys the horde. Orc numbers are reduced for centuries in this area. 112 DR Year of the Tusk Cormyrian cartographers create the first map of Cormyr, Cormanthor, and the Dalelands. Note the map shows the now dead nations of Asram and Anaruria. Here is a fragment of that map. Note the map also shows the Tesh Valley and the Daggerdale Valley being called Teshelar. The Bard Eric Boyd Explains: The exact date of Daggerdale's founding is lost in the mists of time, but it is known that the land of Teshar covered the lands known today as Daggerdale and Teshendale in the Year of the Tusk (112 DR). Little is known of Teshar save that its inhabitants traded with the dwarves of Tethyamar and the nations of Hlondath, Asram, and Anauria, but it is believed its inhabitants created numerous crypts in the Dagger Hills that remain largely unexplored. Many were wizard clans such as the Tanoma family and other refugees from Netheril and Jhaamdath. After Teshar vanished, the remaining inhabitants and new immigrants from the west, south, and east eventually formed Merrydale and Hlontar along the banks of the River Tesh. With the aid of Alokkair "the Wise", a mage of great power, a minor lord, Hlonagh, conquered several local lords and founded the realm of Hlontar at the terminus of the River Tesh. Alokkair soon slew Hlonagh and seized the throne. The "Wizard-King" took to wife Hlonagh's youngest daughter, Shaleaera, through the use of enchantments and killed the rest of Hlonagh's family and supporters. When Shaleara bore Alokkair only daughters, he transformed her into a red dragon and by art drove her to attack nearby elves who slew her with arrows. Alokkair's subjects rebelled frequently, and eventually even his three daughters attacked the cruel wizard. Alokkair turned two into juju zombies, but the youngest, Alaphlame, may have escaped. Alokkair fled to his lair underneath far-off Fox Ridge (located in modern day Shadowdale) where he still lurks as a lich. To this day he lures adventures to his "Grinding Gulf" taking all of their magic for his own. After Alokkair's departure, Hlonatar collapsed and its inhabitants eventually founded Teshendale. 261 DR Year of Soaring Stars The elven city at the heart of Cormanthor becomes the unified city of Myth Drannor with the raising of a mythal. 329 DR Year of the Closed Scroll Hlondath's grain fields are consumed by the expansion of Anauroch, and the city-state is abandoned, its folk migrating east to the Moonsea or south into the Dales and beyond. 451 DR Year of Grasping Shadows The new realm established just north of the Dordrien Holdings is cursed and the main keep of its Paladin Lord is lost to the Plane of Shadow by a druid from Snowmantle in the Border forest. 714 DR Year of Doom Myth Drannor falls under siege by the Army of Darkness. Only two hundred elves and allies out of three thousand escaped to tell of its passing. 796 Year of Grey Mists Merrydale becomes Daggerdale following vampiric infestation. The name comes from a translation of the Dwarven name for the area. Notes from the Bard Eric Boyd: An open and tolerant dale known for its hostility and trust, Merrydale was devastated by a vampiric infestation in the Year of Gray Mists (796 DR). A company of adventurers battled and destroyed the vampires at great personal cost in lives, but not before many citizens were killed or turned into vampiric servitors. The dalesfolk became very grim after having to stake their own children. At least one vampire escaped with several servitors (including a member of the adventuring company, Jander Sunstar, an elf who had fallen prey to the vampires he had battled) to later prey on Mistledale. Merrydale's inhabitants turned in on themselves, their trust destroyed. Over time the dale became to be known as Daggerdale and its inhabitants acquired a reputation for their hostility to outsiders and untrusting natures. Daggerdale - Language: Common Tongue & Condatha, Alphabet: Both use Thorass, Other languages include Elven, Damaran, Giant, Gnome, Orc and Sylvan. Notes from the Bard Eric Boyd: Daggerdale existed as a quiet backwater for centuries under the leadership of a local family who assumed hereditary leadership of the dale. The Morn family ruled from Castle Daggerdale, located in the Southern Dagger Hills, and provided steady, just leadership during this time for the most part, although there were a few exceptions. 1253 DR The Year of Twisted Vines below. 906 DR Year of the Plough Shadowdale Founded. Mines of Tethyamar fall to Demonic invasion. 996 DR Year of Brighter Blades Shraevyn the weapons-mage created his last blade, The Sword of the Dales. 1030 - 1038? DR Aencar the Mantled King Again, notes from the Bard Eric Boyd are helpful: Like the other dales, Daggerdale fell briefly under the sway of Aencar, the Mantled King in the Year of Warlords (1030 DR), but the dale regained its traditional independence after Aencar died in the Year of Singing Shards (1044 DR). 1253 Year of Twisted Vines An interesting note on Colderan the Magelord and politcal events leading up to today. Randal Morn must have really impressed the Dwarves of the area. The Magelord's story as researched by Beldin: You know the tale of Belesaria and the clan of the Brightblade dwarves. At least 100 years ago, the Bladebright goldsmiths lived in delvings in Daggerdale, in peace with the ruler of House Morn, the Mage-lord. The Mage-lords's wife, Belesaria, was a proud and arrogant woman, who believed that the people of the dale were her servants, not she their protector. One cold day in autumn she went to the Bladebright dwarves to buy a fine jewels. The Bladebright dwarves had just finished crafting a masterpiece for their king under the mountain, and as soon as Belesaria saw it she demanded to buy it. The dwarves refused, Belesaria offered more for it, and still they refused. Vowing vengeance for this slight, she stormed off. When Belesaria returned, she told her husband that the dwarves would not sell her their fine work, only their trinkets, and that they said she was not fit to wear anything more than that. The Mage-lord was angered at his wife's words and swore to teach the dwarves a lesson. Returning to the Bladebright delvings, the Mage-lord threatened the dwarves with a sorcerous curse if they would not pay him a great tribute of gold and worked steel as an apology for their insults. The dwarves refused, but, knowing the power of a mage's wrath, the clan and all their kin gathered what they had and left to dwell with cousins under the mountains to the north. Their champions remained behind to fight the Mage-lord and were destroyed, never to be avenged. To this day, the Bladebright dwarves will render no aid to descendants of House Morn, including their only male heir, Randal Morn. 1316 DR Year of the Gulagoar Teshendale destroyed by the Zhentarim. More notes from the Bard Eric Boyd: Two generations ago, in the Year of the Gulagoar (1316 DR), neighboring Teshendale was overrun by the Zhentarim when the other dales failed to come to its defense. Refugees from that dale sought shelter in Daggerdale, including a number of Zhentarim agents hidden in their midst. Those agents incited a rebellion against the Morns, and the ruling family was driven into exile. A Zhentarim agent, Malyk, a distant relative of the ruling Morn family, was installed as the dale's ruler, and he immediately began to terrorize the population with the very orcish mercenaries and human brigands he was installed to repel. 1336 DR Year of the Highmantle Zhentarim sieze Daggerdale - by this time the Zhentarim control all of Daggerdale. 1350 DR Year of the Morningstar Elminster retires to Shadowdale 1353 DR Year of the Arch. More notes from the Bard Eric Boyd: So matters stood until the last male heir of the Morn family, Randal Morn returned to lead a guerrilla insurrection against Malyk's forces to free the dale of the Zhentish yoke. When she reached adulthood, Randal arranged a marriage between his sister, Silver Morn (the only other living member of the Morn family), and a noble of the Cormaeril family of Cormyr to ensure the continued survival of the family line and to prevent Zhentil Keep from claiming the lordship should he fall in battle. In the Year of the Arch (1353 DR), Randal slew Malyk of Daggerdale, and his forces, known as the Freedom Riders, reclaimed three quarters of the dale. Only Dagger Falls and its immediate environs remained under the complete control of the Zhentarim through the rule of a corrupt Dalesman, Constable Tren Noemfor. Randal's rule remained shaky, for Zhentish caravans continued to pass through Daggerdale unhindered and humanoid and human brigands continued to pillage the vale. 1369 DR Year of the Gauntlet Randal Morn reclaims the throne of Daggerdale. As told by the bard Eric Boyd. Constable Tren ruled Dagger Falls for a decade until Eragyn, a priestess of Cyric, resurrected Colderan Morn the Mage-Lord, one of House Morn's more despicable members who had been dead for over 100 years. Colderan turned on Eragyn and unleashed the Dream Fever on the dalefolk. A band of brave adventurers, Eight-and-a-half, recruited by Randal Morn unraveled the sinister plot behind the mysterious disease and defeated Colderan once and for all. In the aftermath of this incident, Constable Tren was transferred to a remote watchpost for his failures to capitalize on the opportunity and, in the Year of the Gauntlet (1369 DR), was replaced by Constable Guthbert Golthammer. Things continued in this vein until the Year of the Gauntlet (1369 DR) when Randal Morn discovered the legendary Sword of the Dales in the crypt of Shraevyn the Mage-Lord, long hidden in Giant's Craw Valley on the western edge of the dale. Randal' men were defeated and he himself was abducted by the forces of the Gothyl the Archshadow. The Eight-and-a-half band of adventurers tracked Randal Morn to the undead sorceress's stronghold in the Spiderhaunt Woods, but he was again abducted by a Zhentarim mage, Ilthond, and taken to Dagger Falls. The adventurers teamed up with the Freedom Riders to free Randal and drive out the Zhentarim occupation forces from the town. 1370 DR Year of the Tankard Last King of Tethyamar dies. 1371 DR Year of the Unstrung Harp Present. [[Category:Settelments in the Dalelands]